Spreader guide roll



July 12, 1955 s. w. WARNER SPREADER GUIDE ROLL Filed Nov. 24, 1953 United States Patent SPREADER GUIDE ROLL Sterling W. Warner, Fredericksburg, Va., assignor to American Viscose Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application November 24, 1953, Serial No. 394,106 1 Elaine, (Cl. 26-63) The present invention relates to an improved spreader guide roll and more particularly to a spreader guide roll comprising a plurality of rigid sleeves positioned along a bowed shaft which sleeves rotate as a single unit.

The use of spreader guide rolls has become extensive in the textile, paper and plastic film industries wherein the rolls are used to transversely stretch a fabric, paper sheet or film traveling thereover. The rolls are also used to prevent wrinkling of the material during the chemical or mechanical processing steps, and they are often used to prevent the paper, sheet or film from shrinking. Use of the spreader rolls is desirable for coating machines, such as cellophane coaters, to prevent the film from wrinkling after the coating has been applied to the film and to insure uniform coating thickness. The spreader rolls generally in use today are of the type whereby a flexible covering such as a rubber sleeve is positioned over the bowed shaft and inner structure of the roll to provide a uniform, continuous, and unbroken roll surface. Although these spreader or expander guide rolls have proved satisfactory, an extremely vexing problem has arisen in that the rol coverings frequently have to be replaced. The covers of the rolls are soon damaged due to constant wear caused by contact with the sheet material, and/or to etching by chemical agents on the sheet material. The expense incurred in the frequent replacement of these rolls in add tion to the loss of production time involved in effecting the cover changeover somewhat limits the use of these spreader rolls.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a spreader guide roll which may be used over lorg periods of time without replacement or repair.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved spreader guide roll which is not subject to damage due to frictional contact with the fabric or paper traveling thereover and which is resistant to the deliterious action of chemical agents.

It is a further object of the invention to provide in a spreader guide rofl a plurality of short rigid sleeves mounted thereon which have peripheral recesses and projecting portions in the sleeve ends which lock the sleeve"- together to cause the sleeves to rotate as a unit.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description of the spreader roll and from the drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a view of the spreader guide roll with a pot-- tion of the roll broken away;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the spreader guide roll showing a portion of the inner construction and the driving means;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the spreader guide roll showing in greater detail a portion of the inner structure of the roll; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary detailed sectional view of the adjacent cooperating ends of two of the sleeves.

2,712,682 Patented July 12, 1955 drawings, the spreader guide roll A comprises a bowed or curved shaft 1 which has positioned thereon a plurality of short rigid sleeves 2, 2 of metal or synthetic plastic in endwise relationship. To mount the sleeves 2, 2 upon shaft 1, the counterbored ends of different sleeves 2, 2 are pressed over ball bearing assemblies 10, 10 which in turn are fitted over flanged bushings 11, 11 secured to shaft 1 and held in place against rotation by key 12 of shaft 1. To provide a continuous, unbroken roll surface and to lock the sleeves together so that they rotate as a unit, the sleeves 2, 2 are machined at their ends to provide recessed portions 3, 3 and projecting portions 4, 4. The recessed portions 3, 3 of one sleeve cooperate with the projecting portions 4, 4 of adjacent sleeves 2, 2 on either side thereof to lock the sleeves together. The interlocking faces of the sleeve ends may have various shapes; however, faces are preferred so that when the shaft is bowed, there will be no jagged or sharp edges which damage the material in contact therewith.

One end of roll A is shown in Figure 2, pulley 6 for driving the roll is placed supporting bearing assembly 10 is positioned between the flanged bushing 11' secured to shaft 1 by key 12 and the counterbored portion of sleeve 2' to support the sleeve against strain created by a rotating drive connected with the pulley drive 6. A collar 13, next to the bushing 11 and secured to shaft 1 by set screw 14, prevents the bushing from creeping toward the end of shaft 1 during rotation. As seen in Fig. l, a drive pulley 6 is also positioned on the opposite end of roll A and has a similar supporting structure as described above. It is not essential, however, to provide driving means for the roll since the roll may be driven solely by the frictional contact of the material traveling thereover.

In assembling the spreader roll, the before the bushings 11, 11 and bearing assemblies 13, 10 are placed thereover. The ends of shaft 1, extending beyond the endmost sleeves 2, 2 are not bent or bowed as is the remainder of the shaft so that the shaft may be mounted in aligned supports. The horizontal dotted line 5 (Fig. 1) drawn lengthwise of the roll A, as compared with the face of the roller, indicates the line of curvature of shaft 1.

With the present invention, there is provided a bowed expander roll having a uniform surface which may be used over long periods of time without requiring replacement or repair and which does not require the use of surface coverings to provide a smooth, even surface to prevent damage to the fabric, web, or film passing thereover.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claim.

I claim:

A spreader guide roll comprising a bowed key affixed to the shaft, flanged bushings fitted shaft and held in place by the key, bearing assemblies positioned around the bushings, and sleeves positioned over the bearing assemblies, each sleeve end having a recessed portion and a projecting portion whereby the sleeves are locked together to form a single unit.

Referring now to the wherein a drive over sleeve 2'. A

shaft 1 is bowed shaft, a along the References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

